


Adventure comes in many forms

by wordsonpages



Series: Three makes family [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Baby, Domestic Bughead, F/M, Family, Fluff, Oneshot, Romance, bughead - Freeform, hints at autism spectrum disorder, teen parents, young family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-09 03:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12879714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsonpages/pseuds/wordsonpages
Summary: “You know what? I think our adventure’s much better than theirs anyway.”Jughead let out a small chuckle, his eyes softening as he looked at his family.“Yeah, it is.”





	Adventure comes in many forms

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely readers.
> 
> I apologise for my long absence and lack of fics. Here is a little piece for my "three makes family" series, featuring bughead and their son Ollie.  
> If you've read the other parts to this series you'll know that Ollie has autism. In this oneshot he's still a baby so it's not as clear. However, I did do some pretty extensive research to get an idea of early cues of autism spectrum disorder in children when they are babies. Thus, this fic outlines the early signs, mostly focusing on development issues.  
> I want to make it clear I am no expert in this area and I hope I have done this character justice and have not disrespected anyone.
> 
> Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Betty groaned as the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house. She had just managed to get Ollie to settle down and was planning to quickly clean before her parents got home from work- lest she face the wrath of Alice Cooper- but it seemed to be one of those days where the universe was against her.

“Just a second!” she called out as the doorbell rang again.

With a sigh she quickly pulled her hair back into a pony tail and gathered the now crying eleven month old in her arms, bouncing him on her hip. Thankfully, Ollie had settled down a bit by the time she reached the front door and was less likely to blow out the ear drums of whoever was on the other side.

A few seconds later, she found Archie and Veronica waiting on the Cooper’s front porch, Pop’s takeout in hand.

“Arch, V… What are you guys doing here?” Betty asked slightly flustered as she continued to settle the fussy baby on her hip.

Veronica quirked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, “Can we not spontaneously visit our best friend on a Friday afternoon just because we love her and wanted to see her adorable son?”

The young mother let out a small chuckle, though the laughter didn’t quite reach her eyes, and part of her was extremely relieved it had come out as a laugh and not a cry.

“Of course you can, it’s just been a…. crazy day and Ollie isn’t exactly his charming self. Are you buddy?” She directed the last part toward the baby who was letting out little sobs now.

“We can come back another time…” Archie began; hand rubbing the back of his neck in a gesture signalling sudden discomfort as he took in Betty’s words and her slightly dishevelled state.

“Absolutely not. Making people’s days is a Veronica Lodge speciality and no one can resist Pop’s milkshakes,” Veronica interrupted; her tone taking on the finality only an elite socialite could muster, before making her way through the front door, lightly rubbing Ollie’s arm as she passed.

The little boy flinched away from the contact, tears still streaming down his cheeks, though Veronica didn’t seem to notice. Mustering a small smile, Betty stepped aside and nodded her head at Archie to come in too. Taking a deep breath and dropping a kiss to Ollie’s head Betty followed them into the living room, hastily kicking toys under the coffee table as she went.  

“Sorry about the mess,” she grimaced, settling onto the arm chair and bouncing Ollie on her lap.

Veronica didn’t even dignify the unnecessary apology with a verbal answer, merely shooting Betty a “shut up” look and waving her hand dismissively. Meanwhile Archie just laughed and made a comment about Betty knowing firsthand the chaos of his bedroom and the Andrew’s house after Mary moved out.

“Moving on, what’s got our little darling in such a fractious state?” the raven-haired girl inquired, directing a sympathetic look Ollie’s way.

Betty shrugged, smoothing the fine blond curls covering her son’s head; her touch was firm but not rough, she and Jughead had realised a little while ago light touches made Ollie uncomfortable and cranky, though she wasn’t quite sure why.

“Honestly, I wish I knew. He hasn’t been sleeping well at all this week and he’s fussier than ever, I can barely put him down!”

Both her best friends scrunched their faces up at her words in a mixture of empathy and distaste. Even though almost a year had passed it was still strange to be discussing the woes of parenthood with them, while their lives revolved around parties and college plans.

“That sucks B,” Veronica offered, though even her high society breeding didn’t give her much of an advantage with this topic.

“Yeah, that’s rough Betty,” Archie added, passing her a milkshake. The blonde smiled in thanks as she grabbed the drink and shifted Ollie to rest against her chest.

“I was reading some articles on the internet though about ‘wonder weeks’ where babies get really clingy and moody and he’s around the right age for one so that could explain it.”

“I’m sure that’s it,” Veronica appeased, smoothing her skirt over her thighs in a gesture that Betty noticed often occurred before her friend seamlessly switched conversational topic. She chose not to comment on the fact that Veronica couldn’t actually be sure- seeing as she really had no clue when it came to this particular area of knowledge- reminding herself that the other girl was only trying to help and she was just in a mood due to her fussy child.

“So anyway how are you guys?” Betty asked politely.

Half an hour later Veronica was telling a story about Cheryl’s latest party and the scandal that ensued after Kevin found the hostess and Toni Topaz in a compromising position in the bathroom , while Archie was sitting on the floor attempting to entertain Ollie.

“Where did Ollie go? Boo!” Archie was cooing at the baby, doing his best to engage him in a game of peek-a-boo.

Meanwhile, Ollie couldn’t have cared less about his red-headed uncle’s antics, and kept his attention focussed on the toy train sat upside between his legs on the floor, spinning the wheels.

Not one to take a hint, Archie moved again to cover his own eyes before removing his hands and trying to catch Ollie’s only for a disappointed frown to grace his features when the little boy was undeterred from the toy in front of him.

“I’d give up on that if I were you Arch,” Betty said gently.

Looking up at her from his place on the floor Archie grinned sheepishly.

“He still doesn’t play peek-a-boo?”

Betty shook her head affirming the answer, smiling slightly as Ollie gurgled happily while he continued to be enraptured by spinning the wheels on the train, glad he seemed to be cheering up some.

“What baby doesn’t like peek-a-boo?” Archie asked baffled, not really expecting an answer.

Betty just shrugged, her brows creasing slightly. She had been wondering the same thing for some time, remembering how much Polly’s kids always enjoyed the game when they were born. It was definitely a point of concern for her and Jughead though her mother assured her not to worry.

“Please, our Oliver is much too clever for such juvenile games. Aren’t you my gorgeous boy?” Veronica cooed, leaning forward to gently pat Ollie’s head. The little boy again squirmed away slightly but was not distracted from his current task.

Betty sighed twisting the golden strands of her pony tail in her hand. “I really wish that was the case, but he hasn’t even said his first word yet or stood up so I think “much too clever” might be a stretch.”

She tried to laugh at the end of her words, passing it off as mere jest but she could tell from the slightly awkward pause that her friends knew she wasn’t really joking and her concern was more evident than she would’ve liked.

Veronica reached across to place a comforting hand on Betty’s knee while Archie just grabbed another one of Ollie’s toy trains and kept playing with him as best as he could.

A moment later the sound of a key turning in the lock filtered into the living room. Betty checked her watch, noting the time- 4:30pm on a Friday- could only mean one person was about to walk through the door.

Jughead’s figure came into view, the door clicking shut behind him as his keys were dropped on the entry table before he looked up to find not only his girlfriend and son as he was expecting, but Veronica and Archie too.

“Hey,” he said with a lilt of question, walking further into the space to greet them.

“Hi Juggie,” Betty answered sweetly, tilting her head up as he leaned down over the back of the couch to peck her lips.

“You okay?” He whispered gently in her ear, to which she offered a small nod; they could talk later.

She closed her eyes briefly savouring the calming feeling he unleashed within her. The immediate feeling of comfort and safety that washed over her in his presence never failed to amaze her and it had only grown stronger over the last year.

Jughead moved around the couch, barely acknowledging their friends before bending down to his son.  Firmly placing his hands on Ollie’s upper arms, Jughead scooped the little boy up and into his arms. Ollie gurgled happily upon realising his father’s presence and clung to him immediately, toy train trapped in his hand against Jughead’ chest.

 

“Hey bud, have you been giving your mummy a hard time again today?” His voice was soft and adoring despite the words.

Betty laughed softly, her heart contracting at the sight of the two most important people in her life [her family] together.

“Lucky she loves you hey? Actually I think both of us are…” Jughead continued on his one sided conversation, while Ollie just rolled the train up and down his chest and looked up at him with a cheeky smile every now and then.

“Shut up!” Betty chuckled shaking her head at her boyfriend, though she couldn’t hide the adoration in her eyes.

“How was work Jug?” Archie spoke, leaning back against the couch near Veronica’s crossed legs.

Jughead shrugged, moving to sit on the floor beside him and placing Ollie between his legs.

“Nothing to complain about, especially since your dad always lets me knock off early on Fridays.”

Archie nodded in acknowledgement while Betty made note of her son’s contentment in his father’s arms. She decided any cleaning she had hoped to do could wait- her parents worked late on Fridays anyway- and ceased the opportunity to pay her friends her full attention, something she couldn’t often do.

“So V any big plans for the rest of the summer?”

Veronica shrugged sweeping her hair over her shoulder, “Just preparing for my move back to New York.”

“Is there much left to plan?”

“Just small things. I’m enrolled and my Daddy found me an apartment so now it’s just shopping and packing.”

Betty bit her lip to stifle a laugh as she noticed Jughead roll his eyes at Veronica’s words. Despite their years of friendship, Veronica’s privilege and sometimes ignorance to it still managed to astound him.

“What about you Arch all set for the big move?” Jughead queried only half paying attention to the conversation.

Archie was heading to New York for college as well, though he would be attending Fordham College and was moving to the Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, while Veronica would be attending NYU and living in the East Village.

“Yeah bro got all the stuff for my dorm so I just gotta pack my stuff. I’ll find out my dorm mate next week too.”

Jughead nodded in acknowledgement.

“I can’t believe you guys are going to be in New York in a few weeks,” Betty mused.

Her voice held an incredulous air mixed with excitement but Jughead couldn’t help but see the hint of sadness and longing in her eyes.  Making a mental note to talk to her about it later, Jughead decided to forge ahead with the conversation.

“Just promise me you won’t become one of those hipsters who drink themed Frappuccino’s and pumpkin spice lattes or we can’t be friends anymore,” he stated dryly.

“Hey I love pumpkin spice lattes!” Veronica exclaimed.

“Exactly,” Jughead retorted with a wry smirk to let her know he was kidding. Veronica let out a huff that turned into a laugh that chimed in with the others.

Betty rolled her eyes though the grin on her face told Jughead that his mission to cheer her up had been successful.

Just then Ollie started to fuss on the floor, crawling toward the coffee table where the left over takeout sat and reaching toward it.

“I can relate bud,” Jughead said sympathetically, meeting Ollie’s eye before picking him up.

“I think it’s someone’s dinner time,” Betty added, reaching over to her boyfriend to take her son to the kitchen.

After settling him in his high chair and giving him a sippy cup of milk Betty turned toward the fridge to get out the soft cooked vegetables she had made earlier and warm them in the microwave. Just as she set the timer on the appliance Jughead strolled into the kitchen.

“Hungry?” the blonde asked with a teasing grin.

“Always,” he replied sidling up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “But first I wanted to see if you were okay,” he continued softly, ducking his head to meet her striking green eyes.

Betty leaned back slightly from the embrace, raising her eyebrows at him. In response he tightens his grip on her waist and gives her a ‘I’m not buying it look’.

Sighing she looks down at her feet before meeting his eyes again with a sheepish look.

“It’ just- and I know it sounds terrible- but hearing Archie and Veronica talk about college and moving away, I can’t help but feel a little sad. I guess it’s just another reminder of how different our lives are now and all the experiences we won’t get to have.” Her voice was small and he could feel the guilt radiating off of her as she spoke her mind.

It made Jughead’s heart ache for her. Mostly because he knew she was internally berating herself for her thoughts, but also because of his naïve wish to give her every experience she could ever want but knowing it wasn’t possible.

 Jughead had gotten his GED before Ollie was born to start working full time while Betty had finished high school online. They were talking about doing online college courses but so far nothing had eventuated to an actual plan.

“No Betty. It’s not terrible. I’m feeling a little sad too. Our best friends are moving away and starting college while we’re living out a completely different adventure than we thought we would at this age, with a completely different set of priorities and responsibilities.” Jughead soothed, moving his hands to comfortingly rub her arms.

“I know you’re right,” his girlfriend acknowledged playing with the front of his shirt, “I just feel like having those thought makes me a bad mum.” She peered up at him apprehensively as if afraid he might agree with her.

“Betty don’t do that. You’re an amazing mother.” His large hands were cradling her face now making her look into his sincere blue gaze.

“Really?”

“Really.”

With that Betty leaned forward to capture Jughead’s mouth is a sweet but passionate kiss. Their lips moved against each other in a well-practiced rhythm, a sensual and gratifying push and pull that made their skin tingle and hearts warm.

 The sound of the microwave timer and their sons agitated “talking” broke them apart.

“Stop groping me in front of our kid,” Jughead joked, shooting her a teasing smirk. Betty smacked him on the chest but laughed before turning around to grab the baby food from the microwave. Testing one of the vegetables to make sure they were cool she walked over to the high chair and placed the bowl in front of Ollie who began picking them up with his little hands.

Sitting down next to him Betty grinned at Jughead where he was leaning against the kitchen counter.

“You know what? I think our adventure’s much better than theirs anyway.”

Jughead let out a small chuckle, his eyes softening as he looked at his family.

“Yeah, it is.”

Moving over to the table to sit beside her Jughead took his beanie off and ran his hands through his hair.

“And I think it might be about to get even better.”

 Betty’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

“What are you talking about?” the perplexed blonde asked, taking her eyes off him for a moment to watch Ollie shove a piece of cooked carrot in his mouth. He was getting good at eating with his hands though a spoon was still a significant challenge.

Jughead shot her a nervous smile while placing a finger up, signalling he needed a moment. One he used to pull out a folder piece of glossy paper from his jacket pocket and place it down on the table in front of her.

“This.”

Betty looked at him for a moment before turning her gaze down to the flyers on the table. Her eyes widening as she took them in. With a gaping mouth she alternated between looking at a slightly nervous Jughead and the flyers for several moments before settling on her boyfriend.

He seemed to realise she was at a loss for words, as with each try only a choking sort of noise escaped her mouth.

“I’ve been thinking. Ollie’s almost one and I’ve been working full time for a year and half. We have money saved up and with the little contribution your parents gave us, we can afford a house.  I know it’s not much but its quaint and enough for just the three of us. I think it’s time we started living our life for real… the three of us as a family.” Jughead finished with a deep breath watching her face carefully for her reaction.

Tears welled up in Betty’s eyes making the green even more vibrant as she looked at him in amazement. Her heart was so full she thought it might burst and she found herself falling in love with this incredible man all over again.

“Juggie… it’s perfect,” she breathed reaching over and clutching his hand while his other wiped the tears from under her eyes. “It’s perfect for our family.”

Her smile was radiant causing him to forget how to breathe for a second. Jughead knew how much she loathed that word and its connotations. But he also knew the significance of her using it; only falling from her lips when she truly felt the sentiment. Reserved for things whose flaws made them perfectly imperfect. Coming only into her vocabulary after he had shown her that she was perfectly imperfect for him and that Ollie was perfect for them. And now she was telling him that this house, this quaint little house that was much less than any Stepford expectation her mother indoctrinated into her was perfect for their family. It made his chest ache in the best way.

“We can go look at it tomorrow afternoon,” he managed to get out, running his thumb along the back of her hand.  Betty nodded enthusiastically, and he couldn’t keep himself from kissing her long and hard right there over the brochure that held the picture of their future.

“Didn’t you just tell me off for doing that in front of the kid? Hypocrite.” Betty whispered before drawing away from the intoxicating taste of Jughead’s lips. She then turned to Ollie who was preoccupied by his dinner during their exchange.

“Your daddy is very good to us,” she stated reaching deliberately for the baby’s hand before pressing a kiss to it.

Ollie emitted a little squeal reaching to put his hand on his mother’s cheek.

“What’s going on in here?” Veronica questioned waltzing into the kitchen to find the young family framed in a loving and intimate moment.

Archie was standing behind her leaning against the door frame with his brows raised in question.

“You’ve never had this much trouble finding a snack before Jug.”

Betty shot Jughead- who rolled his eyes at his best friend’s comment- a soft smile before turning to the duo. She was too happy to care about ditching them and being a terrible hostess.

“Well it seems you guys aren’t the only one’s moving.”

 


End file.
